The mayor helps minorities develop businesses in South-Central Los Angeles. Another city leader spends her free time promoting affirmative action programs. Other civic boosters proudly declare their allegiance to noble causes such as the American Civil Liberties Union. In Beverly Hills, citizens like to tout their liberal credentials. The predominantly white enclave, they say, is a tolerant haven for people of all colors.

A federal judge has dismissed the Beverly Hills mayor and a City Council member from a civil rights lawsuit that accuses police of targeting African Americans in traffic stops. U.S. District Judge William Keller ruled late Tuesday that there is no basis for the claims that Mayor Allan Alexander and Councilwoman Vicki Reynolds showed "deliberate indifference" by ignoring complaints brought to their attention, said Skip Miller, the city's private attorney in the matter.

A federal judge has dismissed the Beverly Hills mayor and a City Council member from a civil rights lawsuit that accuses police of targeting African Americans in traffic stops. U.S. District Judge William Keller ruled late Tuesday that there is no basis for the claims that Mayor Allan Alexander and Councilwoman Vicki Reynolds showed "deliberate indifference" by ignoring complaints brought to their attention, said Skip Miller, the city's private attorney in the matter.

More than 200 people showed their appreciation of the Beverly Hills Police Department Tuesday, crowding into City Council chambers for the kick-off of a community organization dedicated to supporting the police. The group, Police and Community Together, was formed by a coalition of residents and business people who want to foster community support for the police, speakers said.

An expensive legal fight over the cost of building Beverly Hills' $120-million Civic Center has come to an end after 2 1/2 years. City officials and the principal contractor, J. A. Jones Construction Co. of North Carolina, announced a settlement Tuesday for $11.2 million that resolves nearly all aspects of the dispute between the city and contractors. The settlement, which brings the total cost of the final phase of the Civic Center to $73 million, was the result of court-ordered mediation.

A long-running wrangle between Los Angeles and neighboring cities about how to split the bill for sewage treatment and for the cost of improvements to the Hyperion sewage treatment plant in Playa Del Rey has degenerated into a tangle of litigation. In recent weeks, Los Angeles has filed suits against Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Culver City and county Sanitation District 4, which oversees West Hollywood's sewage treatment at the Hyperion plant.

The Beverly Hills City Council, after a lengthy and emotional debate, has given its official blessing to the seasonal display of both a Hanukkah menorah and a Christmas tree on public park grounds. Trying to set aside years of divisiveness over the religious symbols issue, the council voted 3 to 2 Tuesday night to draft a new law giving the candelabrum and tree a permanent side-by-side home during the holidays.

More than 200 people showed their appreciation of the Beverly Hills Police Department Tuesday, crowding into City Council chambers for the kick-off of a community organization dedicated to supporting the police. The group, Police and Community Together, was formed by a coalition of residents and business people who want to foster community support for the police, speakers said.

A federal judge ordered the city of Beverly Hills Thursday to take down a 28-foot Hanukkah menorah or to see that it is displayed next to a comparably sized Christmas tree. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr.

Beverly Hills officials have strung colored lights on a Montezuma cypress to comply with a judge's order that they either take down a Hanukkah menorah in a city park or have it displayed next to a Christmas tree. "It certainly looks like an excellent solution to us," said Rick Putnam, director of public services. The 45-foot-high tree is about 50 feet from the menorah, he said.

The mayor helps minorities develop businesses in South-Central Los Angeles. Another city leader spends her free time promoting affirmative action programs. Other civic boosters proudly declare their allegiance to noble causes such as the American Civil Liberties Union. In Beverly Hills, citizens like to tout their liberal credentials. The predominantly white enclave, they say, is a tolerant haven for people of all colors.

November 22, 1995 | DUKE HELFAND and SUSAN STEINBERG, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

One man recalled how Beverly Hills police allegedly rushed his car in a parking garage and held a gun to his head as they interrogated him. A teen-ager accused officers of detaining him and two friends while they walked to a neighborhood video store, leaving the three handcuffed on the curb for 45 minutes before releasing them. Another youth, the captain of the Beverly Hills High School football team, alleged that he had been pulled over 20 times in the last 18 months.

A long-running wrangle between Los Angeles and neighboring cities about how to split the bill for sewage treatment and for the cost of improvements to the Hyperion sewage treatment plant in Playa Del Rey has degenerated into a tangle of litigation. In recent weeks, Los Angeles has filed suits against Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Culver City and county Sanitation District 4, which oversees West Hollywood's sewage treatment at the Hyperion plant.

An expensive legal fight over the cost of building Beverly Hills' $120-million Civic Center has come to an end after 2 1/2 years. City officials and the principal contractor, J. A. Jones Construction Co. of North Carolina, announced a settlement Tuesday for $11.2 million that resolves nearly all aspects of the dispute between the city and contractors. The settlement, which brings the total cost of the final phase of the Civic Center to $73 million, was the result of court-ordered mediation.

A Jewish organization and the city of Beverly Hills have come to a tentative agreement in a dispute over the display of a Hanukkah menorah in a municipal park, attorneys in the case said Friday. The agreement would settle a lawsuit filed in Demember by the American Jewish Congress, which said the religious symbol in the city park violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

The Beverly Hills City Council, after a lengthy and emotional debate, has given its official blessing to the seasonal display of both a Hanukkah menorah and a Christmas tree on public park grounds. Trying to set aside years of divisiveness over the religious symbols issue, the council voted 3 to 2 Tuesday night to draft a new law giving the candelabrum and tree a permanent side-by-side home during the holidays.

A Jewish organization and the city of Beverly Hills have come to a tentative agreement in a dispute over the display of a Hanukkah menorah in a municipal park, attorneys in the case said Friday. The agreement would settle a lawsuit filed in Demember by the American Jewish Congress, which said the religious symbol in the city park violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

Although appalled at the price of finishing a project that few other cities would dare to dream of, the Beverly Hills City Council has told its general contractor to go back to work on a police station, library and outdoor courtyard that could end up costing as much as $75.5 million. The final tab remained unknown after the 5-0 vote Tuesday night because the two sides agreed to set aside for now the $14.5-million payment dispute that caused the J.A. Jones Construction Co.

The companion of a man shot to death by a deranged woman aboard an RTD bus last month filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday against the two law enforcement agencies involved in the incident. Karim Rami, 26, claims that he was unreasonably searched, handcuffed and detained by Beverly Hills police during an hourslong standoff between the woman with the gun, identified as Esther Rogers, and a Los Angeles County sheriff's SWAT team. The U.S.

Beverly Hills officials have strung colored lights on a Montezuma cypress to comply with a judge's order that they either take down a Hanukkah menorah in a city park or have it displayed next to a Christmas tree. "It certainly looks like an excellent solution to us," said Rick Putnam, director of public services. The 45-foot-high tree is about 50 feet from the menorah, he said.